Revealed: Stunning Daniel Ricciardo pace which would have rocked Silverstone
His best lap in Tuesday’s Pirelli tyre test would have been enough to qualify him in P2 for last weekend’s F1 British Grand Prix, according to Lawrence Barretto.
His lap time was 1:27.415, just 0.7s off Max Verstappen's time which earned pole position at Silverstone, reports Chris Medland.
In mitigation it is fair to say that faster tyre compounds are available in tests, compared to the weekend, and the track was also in better condition than during Saturday’s qualifying.
Ricciardo was driving 2023 machinery for the first time when he got behind the wheel of the RB19.
Despite a spin, it seems the F1 veteran has still got what it takes.
Daniel Ricciardo taking the Red Bull for a spin at Silverstone today
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 11, 2023
(via @RichieDow90)pic.twitter.com/Wj6by2PHSz
While he was testing the RB19, it was confirmed that he will make a full-time comeback driving for AlphaTauri for the rest of this season.
Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries with immediate effect, in time for next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s return comes days after he exclusively told Crash that he would accept an AlphaTauri drive if it gave him a shot at claiming a Red Bull seat.
“Obviously I lost my seat and it was like ‘shit, my career is over type thing’,” he told us.
“And now, six months later I’m getting to drive the best car [in the tyre test].
“Even that alone I’m just taking it all in my stride. I’m very appreciative and excited. I know I’ll be watched. I know it’s not just ‘hey man, go and do some laps for us’.
"Of course at this level everyone’s watching. But there’s no pressure. I’m just treating it as something that’s going to be an amazing experience, something that’s going to spark me again.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
